Beirut is a political thriller film directed by Brad Anderson. The plot sees an ex spook negotiator be brought back to Beirut after the death of his wife to save his friend who is being held hostage. Only a man with nothing left to lose can pull off a deal that no one wants to happen.
I think this film is quite generic, when you start watching a lot of these genre films you see patterns start to emerge and this one seem to feature all of the patterns under the sun. You will have seen it before. How many times have we seen the super spy who is great at what he does, brought close to breaking by the death of a loved one, only to have to seek redemption and prove himself again? That is basically the three acts of this film summed up without spoilers.
It doesn’t have anything new or interesting to say about the situation in the Middle East, it is just the same old same old.
John Hamm and Rosamund Pike are strong leads and bring a certain level of presence and prestige to the film, but they are stifled by a bad script. We barely get to see any range from either skilled performer, and both feel like they’re written to be cliches of other better characters they’ve played in the past.
Overall, deeply generic. Fine in a pinch okay to miss.
Pros.
Hamm and Pike are trying
I enjoyed the ending, I thought it was smart
Cons.
The script stifles them
It has nothing new to say
I feel like I’ve seen it before
It wasn’t hugely engaging
1.5/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 